Weekend Projects: 5 Cool DIY Stools

Ideal for beginners, building a DIY stool offers an enjoyable entree to the rewarding world of furniture making.

Too many places to sit? Never! Almost any room can benefit from one more seat, so long as it’s sized in proportion to the dimensions of the space. Among the panoply of seating options available to bone-weary homeowners, the humble stool is often overlooked, but no other solution offers greater versatility. This weekend, tackle one of these DIY stool projects, and even before Monday morning, the underappreciated stool will prove its usefulness yet again.

1. CONCRETE SEAT

Photo: homemade-modern.com

Although it looks like an expensive piece of furniture from a cutting-edge designer, this DIY stool from Ben at HomeMade Modern costs little to construct—it requires only concrete, wooden dowels, and copper hardware. Ingeniously, the five-gallon bucket in which the concrete is mixed also serves as the form for the seat.

2. TRIPOD CAMP CHAIR

Photo: designsponge.com

A must-have beside the backyard fire pit, this classic tripod camping stool can be made in a single morning using only wooden dowels and a swath of leather (or heavy canvas), plus a handful of nuts, bolts, and washers. Matt from Wood&Faulk provides a step-by-step tutorial that guides DIYers through the process.

3. SPOOL STOOL

Photo: thelovelycupboard.com

This next idea comes from Heather at The Lovely Cupboard, who repurposed a spool for electrical wire into a DIY stool perfect for nurseries and playrooms. Inexpensive to add on, the cushion top is created from a boldly colored fabric that has been stretched and stapled over foam circles cut from a mattress pad.

4. PLYWOOD PERCH

Photo: abeautifulmess.com

From Josh and Sarah at A Beautiful Mess, this trendy DIY stool design balances rough-hewn simplicity with a tall and slender, streamlined silhouette. Besides the power tools that make pretty quick work of this project, all you need is a sheet of plywood and some dime-a-dozen wood screws.

5. BAR STOOL REDUX

Photo: honeybearlane.com

Heidi at Honeybear Lane gave a fresh look to a pair of hand-me-down stools. After spray-painting both with an eye-catching shade of bright red, she “dipped” the seats and legs in gold. In completing your own DIY stool makeover, choose two tones that suit your decor, then seal the painted surfaces with either polyurethane or wax. Fun!